A Startling Devotion
by Phyre Melody
Summary: First of the 'Startling' series. She was a troublemaker. He was perfect. How could something so boring be so fascinating?


He always had great ambition. Perfect Percy, as the twins used to call him. He supposedly wanted to become Minister of Magic.

I don't think I would have met him if I hadn't been friends with the twins. We were in total opposite crowds in school. He was a Prefect, a Head Boy. I had been acknowledged by Filch as the most troublesome girl in my year.

He was two years ahead of me. I never saw him without a book. Whether he was reading it or carrying it in his bag or under his arm, Percy Weasley always had a book. He was always so serious, so boring.

I liked laughter. I liked to joke and play around. I didn't mind getting dirty, as long as it would wash off afterwards. I'd take advantage of the warm weather, hauling all of my books outside for a study session, and then I'd be off exploring the grounds with the twins, more often than not getting chased away from the forest by Hagrid. To make a long story short, my life at Hogwarts was far from boring. I made sure of it.

Still, I couldn't figure out why something so boring could fascinate me. In the winter I would go with Angelina and Alicia to the library to do research on various essays and he would always be there, poring over a thick volume. More often than not I would find myself paused, quill over parchment, just watching him. His black horn-rimmed glasses would glint in the candlelight and the only movement he gave was when he blinked and turned a page. Sometimes he would be writing, the feather of his quill quivering. He'd occasionally pause to think of what to write next, fingering the badge on his robes and looking deep in thought. Then Angelina or Alicia would notice the vacant expression on my face and more often than not step on my foot to bring me out of it. I would hiss in pain, and that would be the only time he would look up, but only to give his signature raised brow.

He was different, though, when I went to visit the twins the summer before our third year. The summer before the badge.

I remember when he arrived at the breakfast table my first morning there, unaware of my arrival. He was clad in his pajamas, hair tousled, looking completely unkempt. When he caught sight of me, his ears turned pink and he uttered a quick greeting, sounding embarrassed. Every morning after that he came to breakfast perfectly groomed, remaining stoic as the twins sneered at him. In the afternoon he had taken to busying himself with various things in the drawing room while the rest of us usually played a game of Quidditch. I soon tired of the sport, though, as I was never good at it, so sometimes I would go back inside and offer to help Mrs. Weasley in making supper. Percy would already be there helping, but would give me a hint of a smile when I offered and Mrs. Weasley would smile and say that they could always use an extra hand. The sun would set after dinner, but sometimes I went out into the garden to think or I would strum on the Muggle guitar that I had. Percy would often join me outside, the two of us just sitting and staring up into the night sky. One time I fell asleep and awoke to him whispering softly that it was time to go inside. It was the only time I had heard him whisper.

Then he was a Prefect, strutting proudly through the halls like he was the next big thing, taking points, telling people off, telling the twins and me off for our latest shenanigans.

Perfect Percy. I couldn't help but roll my eyes when he acted the disciplinarian.

But in the library I always found my eyes straying to him. Usually I had my Chaser friends to prod me out of my stupor, but once I went alone. For all my luck after about ten minutes of my staring, he looked up and spotted me. At first I didn't notice it, really, until he stood up and made his way to my table. My eyes went wide and I actually dropped my quill. He sat down across from me.

"You look clueless, Antawnia, do you need help?" he asked. I nearly laughed. No one except my least favorite teachers called me that. I was known to everyone else as just Tawny. I was going to tell him this, but suddenly I had become a bumbling idiot.

"U-um…N-no, I-I-I'm f-f-f-fine!" I lied. He gave his signature eyebrow raise and looked down at the two sentences I had written so far.

"Oh, really," he said, unbelievingly. Then he picked up the book I had been using as reference and started explaining it all to me, keeping perfect eye contact. Unfortunately, it also meant that he saw when my face turned beet red in his explanation of why love potions were not permitted. He paused and surveyed me, amused. Then he went back to explaining.

I remember seeing him briefly at the World Cup. I stopped to say hello to the twins. He never looked up from making tea.

He came to the Yule Ball at Hogwarts representing his boss Barty Crouch, who had fallen ill. It was a big occasion, everyone dressed their best. I wore blue dress robes that had silver floral designs embroidered into it, fixed my hair a different way and even wore make-up. George was my dance partner. It was a pleasant start to the evening. George and I danced for a while, but occasionally I looked at the champions' table where Percy sat, watching the dancing couples, and for an instant his gaze met mine. I accidentally trod on George's foot.

I found myself sitting out on four dances, as Fred and George had now busied themselves in pestering Ludo Bagman. The Weird Sisters had struck up one of my favorite songs, a slow ballad. I sighed and looked down.

"May I have this dance?" Surprised, I looked up to meet the eyes of Percy Weasley. He held out his hand and gave me a small smile. Still dazed, I took his hand and followed him out to the dance floor. When he put his hand on my waist I thought I might faint. Then we started to move to the music, a slow and steady waltz. I fixed my gaze on a point over his shoulder, but I could feel him looking at me. He was considerably taller than me.

"I must say that I hardly recognized you when you first walked in, Antawnia," he said. "You look stunning." I could feel my face redden and my breath catch.

"Thank you," I said rather shyly.

"It's the truth," he said quietly, as if not wanting to be heard by nearby dancers. "You are stunning." I met his gaze then and saw that he was indeed telling the truth. I smiled, and he did the same.

We danced for the rest of the night. At first we danced at a respectable distance from one another but as the night progressed, I found both my arms draped around his shoulders and he put both hands on my waist. Occasionally we broke the silence between us by talking quietly about what we've done and where we've been since we last seen each other. I felt his thumbs finger the fabric of my dress robes like he used to finger his Prefect badge. It was almost midnight when we stepped from the dance floor. I looked around to see that a lot of people already left, including the twins. Percy offered to walk me to my common room. He offered his arm and I smiled, taking it. It was a pleasant walk; we talked more freely as we passed caroling suits of armor and snoring portraits. Finally we came to the corridor where the portrait of the Fat Lady hung, but he stopped me before we were in sight of the portrait. I looked up at him and met his gaze. He smiled and I couldn't help but notice how wonderfully blue his eyes were. He took my hands in both of his.

"I hope you had a wonderful time tonight," he said, gazing intently at me.

"I enjoyed myself immensely, thank you for dancing with me tonight." My face reddened at his gaze and I averted mine to the floor. A hand cupped my chin gently and moved my head up to meet his gaze.

"I enjoyed dancing with you as well. It was a wonderful way to get to know you, Antawnia." Again with that dreaded name! But…then he was slowly leaning towards me, that blue gaze coming closer.

"Please," I said breathlessly. "Call me Tawny." My eyes strayed to his lips, centimeters away from mine. They fluttered shut as he spoke.

"Alright," he whispered, lips brushing mine. "Tawny..." All train of thought left me as he kissed me deeply.


End file.
